Adults don't care as much as kids. Seeing how unhealthy americans are becoming it's no wonder medicare is going to cost more and more. Get ready to pay up people!

Really? Last night for dinner I had chicken breast and steamed vegetables. For breakfast I had egg whites and fruit followed by a 3 mile jog. Do I look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club?...no but I am working on it. Kiss my American ass!

Rebootit, who is it that you want to "kiss your American ass" .... and why? Or are you just expressing the Tyler Durden in you?

People are just too lazy these days to eat right. They want to reach for the frozen dinner, call pizza delivery, or hop in the car and go "grab a burger". Fewer and fewer people plan and cook for themselves. I suppose it's their right but it really pisses me off that our tax dollars go towards food programs that allow the recipients to purchase all the junk they do. Food programs should provide the basic needs, not allow someone to frivolously spend on pizza pies from Pappa Murphy's...

lifeisadimension

Adults need to accept the responsibility to set the example for their children and other young people.

Amen. These stats are shocking in a country where citizens have so many health problems and where so many people are uninsured.

Funny because most of my great nieces and nephews will eat fruit and veggies before they eat junk food. They ask for veggies when they are at restaurants with salad bars. I've notice their parents are eating fruits and veggies as well, even though they didn't like it when they were kids.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that last year about one-third of U.S. adults consumed fruit or fruit juice at least twice a day. That's down slightly from more than 34 percent in 2000."

WOW! The percentage dropped from 34% to 33% in ten years! That is a drop of 0.1% a year! Not even measurable.

What a non-story.

You are right that junk food is subsidized but that is no excuse, most people would still pick junk food over fruit even if they were the same price. I see people who have $200 cellphones making the same excuse, it's all about prioritizing what you should be spending your money on.

It's really expensive to eat healthy!!!! If veggies and fruits weren't so expensive, I know I'd eat more of them. Over 65 years old, on a limited income. Do the best I can with what I have to spend on groceries, which is not much! Can't get food stamps because I have to much income - amazing!

Groceries overall are so expensive now, it gets harder every day to purchase even basic necessities. I'm in Florida and average an average price for pears is $1.49 lb "on sale", lettuce $2.99, plums $1.99 lb (?), just to name a few. It's crazy. Grocery stores import from foreign countries because they're cheaper?? I'm scared of imported veggies and fruits - don't know what they spray on them. I won't buy imported. America should support the American farmers, then perhaps prices would come down.

The price reflects the value.

Exactly what the 81. Sherry is cherry picking the more expensive fruits like Oranges and berries. For $1.50 you can easily get an apple, a banana and a kiwi.

Package A - apple, a banana and a kiwi = $1.50

Package B - 8 Reese PB cups. =$1.50

McDonalds Double Cheeseburger = $1.50

...which snack do you think the average American buys....

I don't buy the more expensive excuse. In some ways it can be ....if you are useless and don't care to look around.

It would be great to eat healthier, but I can't afford to. What is messed up, is that Organic food is cheaper to grow, but costs more than inorganic food. vegetables, and fruits are much more expensive than "junk food". It doesn't make any sense. If they want americanas to eat healthier, then they need to start subsuduzing the health food instead of the junk food.

You have to shop for fruits and veggies; most fruits can be frozen with no preparation. I have a whole freezer full right now of plums, strawberries, blue berries, cantaloupe, watermelon and pineapple. A can of corn costs 75 cents at Sams, as does a can of green beans. I've eliminated almost all crap from my diet, although I'll break down on the road as there isn't much choice.

It's a matter of self-discipline and price, I believe. I know people who buy a lot of fruits and veggies and then never have the discipline to eat them and end up throwing out a bunch of spoiled food. I know others that never have a fruit or vegetable in their apartment since they eat them when they can afford to buy them.

Friends:

The human taste bud is easily addicted to sugar, salt and grease. This is why the fries at McD's are so tempting, they have it all. When you add catsup it completes the grand slam of flavors that is universally desireable. Read Malcolm Gladwell's book "What the Dog Saw" about flavors, very insightful....page 32.

In order to break bad food habits, your brain will need to give your taste buds a good tongue lashing. Considering the poor health consequences of eating low nutrition, tastes good food in lieu of real food, maybe you should let your wallet in on the conversation, as this will lead to poor health later in your life, and that is bound to cost you.

Bear in mind that everything you frequently becomes a habit, as are the actions of everyone you know, including your children. It isn't easy to break a habit without some type of replacement and/or reward, so get creative and find those strong reasons to improve your diet and that of your loved ones. All of you will reap huge benefits, I promise!

Good Luck and Good Nutrition!

Sumthin fishy,

We haven't devolved from our evolution digestion tract of being constantly starving. Only in the last 50 years, has there really been a surplus of food on a constant basis.

It's also a matter of availability. Virtually every store, except health food stores, carries Twinkies. But try and get fresh fruit and veggies, never even mind organic, in poor, blighted neighborhoods. Good luck. All schools needs to offer healthy food options and shun the bad ones. French fries should not be considered a vegetable, nor the pickles on a hamburger. I'm giving Michelle Obama a lot of credit for putting the word out. And to see shows like "Wellspring" on style may also add to the awareness. Employers need to get in on it. Guess what's in the vending machine at my job? Sugar, salt and ugly carbs. And anyone who says it's their business what they eat, tell it to my health insurance premium. Maybe it's time people got cash back for healthy choices made.

That's true in a lot of cases Sherry, but sometimes fruit is cheaper. Recently, plums, peaches, and necatrines were fifty cents a pound at walmart. Folks were buying it up like crazy.

That's true in a lot of cases Sherry, but sometimes fruit is cheaper. Recently, plums, peaches, and necatrines were fifty cents a pound at walmart. Folks were buying it up like crazy.

And where were these grown? Mexico, etc? Loaded with artificial pesticides and with growth agents that make it look ripe sooner, taste bland, and have very little nutritional value. Probably also irradiated on top of that.

The best watermelon I've ever eaten was shipped in from Guatamala, and the ones from Mexico are much richer, sweeter, and more tender than the ones grown in the states.

I find the ones from Mexico to be a bit less colorful and a lot more bland, luckily my grandpa grows some of his own locally that are pretty good, but then again he has a good half acre to grow them on, I live in a townhouse with no where to grow much food.

I think it's a matter of soil, farmers, handlers, shippers, as well as the time from the vine to the market. There's a lot that goes into a perfect product, and every country has products that fall miserably shy of quality.

You have a very juvenile take on this matter. All that yum, yum, yum is making the majority of Americans fat and unhealthy. Get it?

Were you very young when you lost your sense of humor?

cheetah, You talkin' to me?

Yes. I feel badly for your inability to recognize Alan's smartassm.

cheetah, it's not easy to tell when people are kidding or serious when you can't see their facial expressions. But somehow YOU have the capability to read these posts and know that? But I do not doubt for a minute that many people eat only (or mostly) food that is not good for them, that is high in calories and fat, but that tastes good. Sixty percent of Americans are overweight and out of shape. Most of those are probably sick or eventually will be. This is nothing to laugh about.

We shouldn't be messing with natural selection. The real problem is when people get sick because of their poor decisions we make it our business to try and fix/cure them? In nature they would just die! It's not natural to interfere with the process. The whole world is quickly getting overpopulated and we're worrying about what other people eat? What do you care? If you want to live longer worry about what YOU eat. Then vote in some leaders that will require some personal responsibility by letting fat, lazy and stupid people die! If you want to live the lifestyle then be able to afford the lifestyle and not make other people pay for you.

Wow SDB1,"We shouldn't be messing with natural Selection," humm where have I heard this before, Oh yea Hitler. Ok, so someone has a heart attack let them die. your child is diagnosed with cancer or is in a accident, what let them die. is this also part of your natural selection? Sounds to me like you should apply for one of the up and coming death panels. I guess that all the Vets that have put thier backsides on the line for your freedom and rights should be treated in this way also?

French fries are the #1 consumed vegetable in the US, not potatoes per se.

Potatoes are a vegetable, but have a high starch content. However, the bio engineered potatoes are not as good.

Technically they are veggies but do they even have any nutritional value? They taste dang good though.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2

Don't diss the potato; it's really very good for you.

I would guess that most Americans could easily stop buying so much bologna, sugary soft drinks, candy and junk food and start spending it on fruits and vegetables.

WW3COMIN is right. Most Americans are eating balogna because fresh fruits and veggies are too expen$ive.

Callin BS on this one. Do a little research, and buy the stuff that is in season, preferrably at a local farmer's market. You can get 4 pounds of strawberries right now for about 8 dollars. Apples are coming into season soon, they will be cheap and taste awesome. During the winter, a 3 pound bag of frozen berry mix is about 4 bucks at my local grocer. I mix it with some light cool-whip and it makes an awesome snack / desert. Do some research, and buy in bulk.

Go and buy some Chinese fruit then

I think most people can afford fruits and vegetables. Just they want to stuff their faces until they break a sweat and can't breath. If people would spend the same amount of cash on fruits and vegetables as they do junk food, they would find that you eat enough and would weigh about half as much.

Our portion control is what's wrong in this country. If the food isn't piled up a foot high than we think we are starving to death which is the furthest thing from the truth.

Head of lettuce is only about $1 I'd rather eat a salad then a candy bar.

The number of people who can't afford fruit and vegetables is relatively small. Yet the number not eating them is what,half to two thirds, according to this article? No excuses. If it was 10% not eating enough, I'd accept the cost argument.

yeah a full tummy and a fat a**.

So much money for apples, there won't be any left for Winstons.

excuses, excuses

Who can eat fruit when we eat at Outback and drink Dunkin Donuts coffee.

"I have lived in Iowa all my life. The only thing I have to say to all the people making fun of Iowa or the snide comments about the floods "dont make fun of the farmers or Iowans with your mouth"

Well, P9 do you like the farmers or hate 'em?

Yeah I have to agree with those who say the can't afford excuse is crap. They do make frozen and canned fruits and veggies at about half the price. Also the people that cannot afford fruits and veggies are probably on government assistance. Food stamps will buy fruits and veggies. And WIC also provides vouchers for a certain amount each month. And there are such things as Farmer's Markets were the cost of such is about half as in the grocery stores. My family lives on a very tight budget with no govn assistance. We still manage to eat plenty of fruits and veggies and no junk food. We have a garden every year and can or freeze what comes out of it. Our kids eat what we put on the table. We are their parents and we say so.

It's people like you who come on these sites who spout nonsense and not facts. I live in Baltimore County, MD. It is very expensive to buy fruits and vegetables. I have 3 boys and they love fruits and vegetables. I buy as much as possible,but not much as I would like. I need to buy large quanities for my kids. One bag of apples is about $4.00. Romaine lettuce is what i will buy because it has more nutrients than Iceberg. It cost about 2.00 for 1 head. It depends on where you live. Fruits and vegetables are ridiculously high. When you have a large family and on a limited budget, you cannot possible afford fruits and vegatables.

Than why don't we stop having such large families and live within our means?

Who are you referring to Lisa Hampton? I do not see any facts or nonsense in my post. I have a large family and live on a tight budget. WE HAVE A GARDEN. There is no need to insult anyone. You can also buy canned and frozen. Same nutritional value at a lower cost. Frozen berries make great pancakes and smoothies. Canned fruit makes a great dessert. Please quote my nonsense so I can defend myself instead of make accusations.

Also, who's going to want to eat healthy if everywhere we go in the city there are fast food restaurants all over the place and every other commercial has a image of a burger the same size as the tv screen???

That would be called self control.

If the tv showed people jumping off a bridge, would people follow?

only if there was triple stack burger with 4 slices of bacon, extra mayo, 3 slices of american cheese on a sesame seed bun waiting in the bottom :)

And growing your own is expensive. I don't do it to save money - just for the taste. A neighborhood or community garden would work better. I planted just one cumcumber plant for personal consumption and when it started to produce - I had more than I could possibly eat before they go bad and that is after sharing with the neighbors. The birds did seem to enjoy the extras though.

I also find it hard to consume the 5 - 9 servings that is recommended, and I do try to incorporate veggies and fruit as much as possible, but unless you go vegan, how does one get 9 servings in one day?

It's easy to get 7-9 fruits and vegetables into our daily meals - we just need to be creative in how we do it.
Example menu from yesterday for me: Breakfast - oatmeal with added banana, pumpkin stirred in, Lunch - Sonshine veggie burger with organic leaf lettuce and a serving of mini tomatoes, Dinner - Asian salad, full of romaine lettuce, carrots, cabbage (both green & red), a kiwi. Two small snacks during the day consisted of a small apple and about 5 dates with 3 Brazil nuts. I count at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables consumed. It can be done. Cut out some of the animal protein (Americans can definitely do with less saturated fat and cholesterol) and there will be plenty of room for the good stuff!

@Denise - I'm a vegetarian and that doesn't even sound good to me. LOL. Pumpkin in the oatmeal? Yeach. If you want the meat eaters to come to our side you'll need to do better. Try Chef Chloe! She is good!

to smallbusinessforMcCain:

Remember that the "9 servings" fruits/vegetables per day is the TOP of the range for the most active people, most of us only need the lower end of 5 or 6 per day--fruit with breakfast, veggie with lunch (on a sandwich, whatever) salad and another veggie with dinner, and two servings as snacks/dessert, with a cup of juice counting as a serving (once a day). It's very doable, just takes the effort (and I probably slack off as much as the next person) but it can get boring on a tight budget (bananas 365 days/year?). But the biggest thing is still portion size--the stores sell apples so big they really count as two servings, bananas, too, and getting the produce eaten before it spoils, without having to shop every day or two, is equally tricky. It's doable, but takes far more effort than many Americans are used to giving their shopping lists.

I don't have any problem with the pumpkin and bananna - it's the oatmeal I can't do. One of my breakfast is whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter - little honey on top of that and a layer of bananna. Yum.

I get more confused about what exactly a serving is - does a slice of tomato and baby spinich with my turkey sandwhich count as 1 or 2 servings of veggies. What if I add avocado?

I dunno. Maybe I am spoiled here in CA. Always some kind of fruit on sale for 99 cents a pound. Huge bags of carrots about 50 cents a pound. Bananas 67 cents a pound. Trader Joe's here is advertising all the time how they sell bananas individually for 19 cents. Mexican markets are even cheaper - 4 bunches of radishes for a dollar. 3 or 4 cucumbers for a dollar. Apples often 50 cents a pound - smaller ones granted... Huge bags of oranges for a few bucks. Three pound bags of mixed apples - never more that 4 bucks. 99 cent store has fruit and vegetables and often in poorer neighborhoods. Bag of kiwis - 99 cents. Bag with about 40 key limes in it - 99 cents. Big bunch of bananas - 99 cents. Two or three bell peppers - 99 cents.

Hell, a lot of the produce at the 99 cent store ends up spoiling because nobody buys it. And are all the people in these neighborhoods eating the right amount of vegetables and fruits? I doubt it! They said no state met one standard, even California, and from what I listed above, which is available all the time, cost is no excuse!

And the apples come from washington state and the bananas come from central or south america, so it isn't like it is all grown here. And rail transport is dirt cheap.

It seems like a lot of communities just don't have efficient distribution systems.

you don't have to go to whole foods. shop around.

Oh my, I never said I shop Whole Foods, I said I visited the nearest one an hour away a few times. I frequent Aldi, Meijer, and Kroger. But Aldi's produce is usually sub-par.

lorent, I grew up in CA, and I agree, produce there is better. Better growing than here where winters are harsh and almost everything is imported from more temperate climates. It is not that we don't have "efficient distribution systems" but would not HAVE fresh produce without more expensive imports. But, hey, most of us here are also not sweating the horrible housing bust like all of you are there. For every economic advantage there are disadvantages.

I live in Az and don't know if we just have it easier here due to proximity to California and our local farms, but if you shop around you can find the following items for $1 each: Head of lettuce, head of cabbage, bunch of carrots, bunch of green onions, 4 pack of yellow onion, 4 pack of tomatoes, 2 pack of green bell pepper, 4 ears of corn, a bag of iceberg lettuce salad, a bag of 6 oranges, a bag of 3 grapefruit, a bag of 2 lemons & 2 limes, pack of 2 eggplant, and 1lb of potatoes.....for $14 you can stock your kitchen with fresh fruits and veggie's, and if you're creative, will give you a week or so of fruit and veggie sides.

Anybody in Arizona that makes the excuse that fresh fruits and veggie's are too expensive are fooling themselves; fresh fruit and veggie's are more affordable than junk food when you look at how far you can stretch them.

I'm a single mom with 2 boys, one who is 11 and plays football and another that is 2. BOTH my boys eat alot of fruits and veggies. We shop every other day for our produce and even on a very tight budget, we manage to always eat fresh fruits and planty of veggies. Sure, I have to sometimes shave the budget somewhere to make it work but it's worth it. It's about priorities and the health of my children, and myself, is totally worth it.

We also cut out one "eat out" night a month to afford a membership to the YMCA for all of us. Health should be a priority.

I agree. Even though it is more expensive, at least it IS where we live, we do the same because long term health is more important than small, short term savings.

Rice and beans is cheaper than McDonald's and Hamburger Helper, and then you can buy some veggies with the extra money. Or, you could join a CSA and have fresh veggies delivered to you in unbelievable quanitities at a low price.

Rice and beans are cheaper, true. But a CSA is a major investment -- I know a lot of folks who would love to join a CSA but don't have the spare $300 up front, even though they would get far more for that money in the CSA than in the grocery store.

Bananas are 40 cents a pound. It's apple season - they'll whack you 80 cents for a pound of macs. I didn't get a raise so I'm gonna go eat worms...

Assuming that you squeeze in a few hours to sleep every night, it sounds like you don't even have time to enjoy life.

Is it so hard to believe that people actually enjoy living a healthy lifestyle? Just because someone is busy doesn't mean they aren't "enjoying life".

I'm a single mom, work full time, go to school part time and work out in the gym about 4 days a week. I'm a very busy person but I have a very fullfilled life. My kids enjoy time in the gym and we all run together and enjoy nature. We also have ample time for movies here and there, trips to the beach and yes....even sleep!

I go to bed between 9 pm and 10 pm, TV is a mind waste. And I get 1 hour’s lunch break, where I sometimes take half hour nap. This is recommended by Doctors.

I enjoy life more now than I ever did in my past. Also, when you are fit and eat healthy, your sex life is mind blowing.

I have the same problem. Unless you eat what you bought that same day, you're probably going to throw it out in a day or two...

You can freeze nearly all fruits and vegetables and thaw them in the refrigerator later with little to no nutrient loss. Onions are a little tricky because of the high water content. (Onion is a garnish, not a vegetable, by the way.) The trick is to cut it down before you freeze it.

It's much cheaper to grow your own. A seed packet costs very little and you get plenty in return. And you can save the seeds from most produce for the following year. (Until they start selling only GM seeds that you HAVE to buy every year.) You don't need a lot of space, either. You can grow vegetables in containers on your porch or balcony, or even right in your kitchen.

Apples, oranges and carrots are examples of fruits/veggies that keep a long time refrigerated. Buy bananas on the green side so they won't all be ready for banana bread in a day.

And there's always canned and frozen options. A bag of frozen berries (buy pre-frozen or freeze yourself) is delicious mixed with yogurt or in a smoothie. Frozen peas are delicious (you can even pop them in your mouth frozen for a quick snack and they're yummy!) I buy "natural" applesauce (no sugar) in individual size containers because I find we never make it through a large jar before it gets moldy. It's a yummy snack and an easy lunch box addition for kids.

And don't forget about dried fruits either - they are great to keep on hand as a snack or to use in salads/recipes. We usually have raisins and dried apricots. Do look for versions that are dried without sugar, though.

Oh, but I can't afford a whole packet of seeds that's going to be viable for only three years.

I don't get it. You'd rather not have fresh fruit, but would like to have something half artificial and loaded with preservatives? Freezing helps a ton, plus there are other preservation methods, like pickeling. Don't make up an excuse like that just to avoid eating what's really good for you (our ancestors didn't eat junk and they did just fine, in fact, even better than us).

Actually salad (iceberg lettuce, which is what most people use)has almost no nutritional value. And it's not very filling, unless you add something to it like chicken breast or deli turkey.

\

I agree on what most ppl eat tho, it's junk, there's so little food in food it'd ridiculous. I pretty much stopped buying processed goods and went with fresh stuff. Make my own french fries, chicken tenders, etc.

My only vices nowadays are chips and pizza. Not trying to make life completely boring.

It's interesting a dairy farmer will give his or her herd quality feed, good pasturage, a warm

loafing shed and milk parlor, feedlot shelter from the rain in winter, and even free vet care!!!

America, on the other hand, gets NOTHING! Our government is hand-in-glove with Corporate,

we are experimented on, bled, millions homeless living under tarps or abandoned buildings,

tens of millions trapped in impossible domestic situations, and hundreds of millions who are

preyed upon every time they walk into a supermarket or a drug store, PREYED UPON, with

the full knowledge and complicity of our so-called 'regulators', who are also human predators.

We have the lowest education & worst medical system in 'the West', but the greatest military

Mercenary Wehrmacht and globalist Financial Vampirocracy in the history of mankind, bigger

than all other nations, C.O.M.B.I.N.E.D, ...like slaughtering our diary herds right in the field,

burying them in mass graves and setting our carcasses on fire, that is America's True Grits.

US are all victims of massive Corporate-State abuse, never mind the fruits and vegetables!

Then read of the brilliant successes in Brazil: http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=2957

É cada um por si agora! Salvem-se!

You've obviously never seen how animals on factory farms live....

you want to eat nothing but corn and the ground up parts of other humans, you go right ahead.

And with the economy the way it is, everyone should be at the GROCERY STORE where you can buy a head of Romaine for 80 cents, a tomato for 50 cents, an onion for 79 cents and have enough salad to fee yourself three meals or feed three adults once for $2.69.

The problem is lettuce, tomatoes and onions are simple produce and are not marketed on radio or late night TV to the low income folks that really need the healthy stuff and not a $1 heartburn gut-bomb.

Actually that's being over-simplistic. The geo-location of fast-food outlets versus full grocery

stores (as opposed to quickie-marts) is directly statistically correlated with income and race.

The results are unequivocal and are applicable nation-wide, whether you live in Harlem or in

Compton, you'll have to walk a LONG, LONG, LONG way to find any fresh fruits or vegetables,

every billboard you pass on the way is pushing Cialis or Abilify or Lipitor or Prevacid or Zoloft.

http://listverse.com/2009/08/12/top-10-most-popular-recreational-drugs/

So let's stop subsidizing junk food, so that we pay at the store the real cost of the food.

that's not true, fruit and veggies are cheap as all get out. Somethings constantly on sale at my grocery store.

yeah lets buy a box of cereal for 5 dollars full of sugar and garbage. instead of a 3 dollar bag of oranges or apples.

How is a 75 cent bag of grease chips cheaper than a 40 cent apple?

Cause she's rich? Hardly her fault your not. They worked for it.

The attitude that fruits are a snack is part of the problem. There is no reason that fruit can't be part of a balanced meal. Regular breakfast for everyone in my house always includes a piece of fruit, whether it's cereal with raisins (real ones not the sugary ones in raisin bran cereals) and a banana, or a peach along with a container of yogurt, or a cut-up apple alongside an egg. Try serving a sliced pear or segmented orange alongside a burger instead of fries. Incorporate a variety of fruits and veggies in the salad that accompanies your chicken (raw spinach and sliced strawberries with a balsamic dressing ... yum).

Fruits are a great snack, but that is certainly not all they need to be.

funny capt...u r trippin

Breakfast for my son is always a piece of fruit -- usually an apple sprinkled with cinnamon. Fruit is a great meal.

seems to me going to harvard that yeah she worked for it. get over yourself ww3. everyone has to work. thats how it is. i work my husband works. we still eat healthy. why, because we worry more about that than how life is some much easier for someone else.

Fruit is a snack? Tell that to my 2 year old that had grapes, a banana and glass of milk for breakfast!

Neither is ketchup.

Reagan was. Toward the end.

Reagan was. Toward the end.

Lol, probably sooner but rotted from the inside first.

The generation growing up behind me got a little further away from this- more convenience foods on the market made it easier for mom to reach for the processed stuff or grab a quick bite from the drive through between school and soccer practice or whatever.

the whatever you are referring to is called work

I work a full time job, have two small children, take care of a house and husband. My husbands works 50+ hours a week. We still manage to eat healthy home cooked meals and have a garden to supply us with canned and frozen veggies. We just don't sit in front of the TV for hours every night when we get home from work. We get out of the house and do something...and our children get out and help us.

Wasn't meant as an insult- just an observation. There are a lot of kids who are not being taught good eating habits, how to cook food for themselves, etc. I think this is a lot of why we have lousy eating habits. I learned differently. Can't say my habits are perfect but I try to put balanced meals on the table because I was taught what that meant. More power to every single parent who is teaching their kids the same thing now. That's how the pendulum swings back.

I agree. I like snack foods and sweets as much as the next person, but we incorporate fruits and/or veggies with every meal, and we rely heavily on fruits and veggies for snacks. I've never counted but I know that we easily exceed the 5-9 servings a day suggested amounts.

Celery with peanut butter snack. Much better than crackers. Even as lazy as I can be, will make this. Plain yogurt with frozen berries (Costco, $10 for a GIANT bag) is a lot better and cheaper than the nasty HFCS-sweetened individual containers.

Yeah, fruits and vegetables are expensive. Farmer's market where I live is a trendy, cost blowout. Plus a lot of the stuff they sell there is tempting junk: pastries, expensive latte's, over-sweet bread. I've found a locally-owned grocery store that buys from local growers. Much less expensive, and still has the benefits of locally-grown.

I think the lack of fruits and veg in Americans' diet is as much laziness and busy-ness as cost.